The gap might have closed some, but Dulaney is still the team to beat

Lansdowne's 14-year golf coach Chet Michalski sounds like a grizzled veteran of the Baltimore County golf league when delivering his preseason forecast.

"There's Dulaney and then there's the rest of us," said Michalski. "They're just head and shoulders above everyone else."

And Dulaney coach Chuck Klimek is sure enjoying the view.

"We're not as strong as we were last year but I think we still have a real good shot at winning the county championship again this spring," said Klimek, whose Lions are seeking their 13th straight county title. "We lost a couple key players and Perry Hall has a strong club so they should be right in the hunt. This year, just about anything can happen."

Freshman Ryan McKinney, who emerged as Dulaney's low medalist during the state tournament last fall, will take over the No. 1 spot for the Lions. His brother, junior Brendan McKinney, will occupy the No. 2 position while senior Tim Moores and junior John Steckler fill in at Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.

Rounding out the Lions' top six are junior John Allard and sophomore Brian Frank.

Perry Hall coach Joe Stoy would be flattered to hear his team mentioned in the same breath with Dulaney but he, too, has been around long enough to know better.

"Dulaney is probably by themselves again," said Stoy. "They're going to be tough to beat again but hopefully we can gain some ground on them and continue to be competitive."

The Gators, who have finished second in the county the last two years, have four of the more consistent shooters in the Central Division in No. 1 senior Chris Keefer, No. 2 freshman Jamie Gellinkerchin, No. 3 senior Ross Mickle and No. 4 junior Greg Canapp.

Franklin has won the Western Division title 14 of the last 19 years and Indians coach Bob Herring sees no reason why his team can't make it 15 of 20.

"I'm always positive," said Herring, who has inserted sophomore Rob Rosenberger in the Indians' No. 1 slot. "We're not in Dulaney's class by any means but we've had our share of success over the years."

The Indians will try to carry on their winning tradition without Jason Frederick, who has taken his steady backswing to Western Maryland College.

Lansdowne, which has worn the Western Division crown the past two seasons, has a solid No. 1 man in senior Jason Brewster but the next five positions are up for grabs. That will create weekly battles among seniors Tom Prete, Josh Allen and Eric Coates, juniors Dave Johns and Brent Bearden, sophomore Chad Smith and freshman Wayne Dash.

"Jason could be one of the top three golfers in the county," said Michalski, whose Vikings have finished 6-0, 6-1, 5-1 the last three seasons. "As a team, we're probably around fourth in the county, least I would like to think we're that good. I'm hoping to win at least five matches and I would like to see two of my players finish in the top 20 at the county tournament."

Mitchell Moon's goal for his Sparrows Point team isn't quite as lofty.

"We have three guys back from last year but that was their first year ever of playing and all the new people we have out have never played before, so I'm just trying to introduce them to the game and trying to get them as excited about it as I am," said Moon. "We managed two ties last year which was a surprise to me. They were like wins for us."

Among some of the inexperienced Pointers are seniors Jesse Owens and Amy Tracey, juniors Lee Plummer and Andy Paul and sophomore Danny Harris.

With six sophomores and three freshmen on his team, Parkville coach Bob McKee is taking a positive approach and looking to the future.

"We're quite young but we have some very good athletes that seem willing to work," said McKee, who has three returning juniors in Nick Aumiller, Steve Gluth and Whitney Cluster. "We ought to finish in the middle of the pack."